DUBAI– Suryakumar Yadav marked his 35th birthday with an unbeaten 47 off 37 balls to power India to a commanding seven-wicket victory over Pakistan in their Group A showdown at the 2025 Men’s T20 Asia Cup. The win, completed with 25 balls to spare, underscored the reigning T20 World Cup champions’ dominance in all departments of the game.
India’s spinners set the stage for the triumph, exploiting a sluggish Dubai pitch to strangle Pakistan’s scoring. Kuldeep Yadav led the attack with a superb 3-18, supported by Axar Patel’s 2-18 and Varun Chakaravarthy’s tight 1-24. Their combined control limited Pakistan to 127 for nine, with Sahibzada Farhan top-scoring at 40 and a late cameo from Shaheen Shah Afridi (33 not out off 16) offering some respectability.
Chasing 128, India started briskly. Abhishek Sharma lit up the innings with a whirlwind 31 off 13 balls, peppering Shaheen and Saim Ayub with clean sixes and crisp boundaries before falling at long-off. Tilak Varma added 31 of his own, including a towering 98-meter slog-sweep, while Suryakumar calmly guided the chase home with Shivam Dube (10 not out) at the other end. Dube’s six and Suryakumar’s decisive blow off Muqeem sealed the win in clinical fashion.
Earlier, Pakistan’s top order faltered under early pressure. Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah struck early blows, dismissing Saim Ayub for a second golden duck and Mohammad Haris cheaply. Despite flashes from Fakhar Zaman and Farhan, Pakistan never found momentum as Axar and Kuldeep tightened the screws in the middle overs. Shaheen’s late hitting briefly lifted the scoring rate but left India with little challenge in reply.
The result gave India their second consecutive win of the tournament, boosting their net run rate and reinforcing their title credentials. The game was also marked by a lack of post-match handshakes, reflecting the heightened diplomatic tensions that have accompanied this storied rivalry.
Brief scores:
Pakistan 127/9 in 20 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 40, Shaheen Shah Afridi 33*; Kuldeep Yadav 3-18, Axar Patel 2-18)
India 131/3 in 15.5 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 47*, Abhishek Sharma 31; Saim Ayub 3-22)
India won by seven wickets. (Source: IANS)
